not be until wednesday night they can get anything done. of course, the wait is excruciating for many of the family members who are still gathered at the mine awaiting word on whether one of their loved ones is one of the four that they're still looking for that is not confirmed dead. they're holding out hope. the governor is still hoping for a miracle. he also told me the odds are long that they are alive. >> we're almost at the 24 hour mark. we were showing our audience while you were speaking this graphic of what is believed to have happened to those miners. take us back a step to what they right now suspect happened and how those four got trapped. >> reporter: well, this happened yesterday at 3:00. this massive explosion. actually, it was a shift change. and so there were a series of workers coming up. it's a very narrow shaft through the mine. probably seven feet high. as they were coming up, something, a spark, if you have a lot of methane gas, and this particular mine has been described as gassy, as having these issues in the past.

they've had a number of federal safety regulations. as you need is a spark if it's very gassy. there was an explosion. there were nine people on the first bus. two survived. the other seven died. down the draft was where it got the other people. it's believed three or four people still missing were in a different part. it's possible they could still be alive. but in terms of one of these safety areas that they have, they looked in one. they were not there. that's why the government said he's concerned and that the odds are long that they're still alive. >> all right, norah. thank you. the owners of the upper big granch mine have a long history has norah just discussed with safety violations. they reportedly include 57 criations just last month for infractions. among them, things like not properly ventilating the highly combustible methane. joining me now to talk more about this is leading authority on the coal industry. he's also the author of "big coal, the dirty secret behind america's energy future."

thanks for joining me. what can you tell us about the people of the company that own this mine? we're looking at information coming in. 57 citations in a month? is that normal? >> yeah. well, no, it's not normal. and massey energy has a long history of safety violations. both in underground mines and in other kinds of violations in their larger surface mines also. they're really one of the most kind of notorious coal operators in. >> after sago, we thought things were going to get better. have they not? >> well, you know, there have been some modest improvements since the sago mine explosion and tragedy of a few years ago. then, of course, we had the utah mine tragedy. and every time there's lengthy investigations, and every time there's lots of recommendations. and every time those

recommendations are put off, watered down and they're just not as tough as they should be. >> are they not as tough because the coal mines industry is very powerful and those who support it especially in that part of the country? >> certainly the coal mines industry is very powerful. especially a coal mining company like massey energy which has a lot of political weight in west virginia and has always fought against tightening mine safety regulations and always fought against mining labor rights and things like that. but also it's really important to say that this kind of deep underground mining and gassy mines is just dangerous. and it's always been dangerous. and there's no way that you can do this kind of thing and not run the risk with these kinds of explosions. >> yeah. absolutely. it is dangerous work. when you hear these family members, certainly you want, if possible, the best circumstances for those people who put their lives on the line and go into those coal mines, work that

honestly nobody wants to do. coming up in less than 30 minutes, we're going to talk to a former minor and author from the west virginia area about the safety dangers these miners, generation upon generation face when they go on and do that work. developing now, an aaronment hearing is being held in a massachusetts courtroom at this hour for three teenagers charged in the bullying of a 15-year-old girl who committed suicide. none of the teens are expected in court. phoebe prince killed herself back in january after enduring months of relentless bullying by a group of six kids. nbc's michelle franzen is outside of the courthouse in massachusetts. the kids are not expected in court, but what are we expecting to see happen, though? >> reporter: yeah. certainly, that, tamron, is getting ready to start just momentarily. those three teens being charged as adults and arraigned as adults. they'll not be making an appearance in court today. the lawyers have filed motions on their behalf to shield them

from the media attention since they still are underage. the lawyers will represent them in court today facing criminal charges of harassment and also civil rights violations for phoebe prince's suicide death. prosecutors allege that certainly it was unrelenting bullying that they say led to phoebe prince's -- to hanging herself back in january. she was a freshman. she had recently emigrated from ireland here. prosecutors say not only the three teens arraigned today but others that are charged that will be arraigned on thursday participated in the bullying over the course of three months and also on the day that prince took her life. so those charges include shawn mollbyhl, age 17. they've been charged with statutory rape. also a 17-year-old.

she along with mollbyhill were charged with civil rights and criminal harassment. could be a watershed case, tamron, in cases that the whole nation will be watching. president obama met today with 20 african-american religious leaders. the preachers represent some of the largest black churches in our country. it comes amid growing calls for the president to get more involved in directly addressing the needs of the african-american community. the recession has taken a disproportionately high toll on minority communities. blacks have nearly double the unemployment rate of whites. a white house spokesperson denies the meeting was about politics or direct response to criticism. more upheaval in the republican national committee. the chief of staff ken mckay has resigned after that scandal involving a risky nightclub trip. his departure makes him the highest ranking official to leave the rnc since the scandal first broke. ryan grim is with the huffington post. he joins us now. someone stepping down, this time

a big name. the natural question to follow is what does this mean for michael steele? >> michael steele is probably going to be fine. it takes -- it takes two-thirds of a vote of the rnc to kick him off. and he was put up there with such fanfare a year and a half or whatever it was ago that it would be a real -- it would look -- it would be a pr nightmare for them to be ousting michael steele at this point. they're only a few months away from the mid-term elections. maybe if that doesn't go very well, at that point they could revisit it. but he's going to be fine for the short term, at least. >> i want to play what newt gingrich had to say today on the "today" show. kind of similar, actually, to what you're saying. and we don't have it. anyway, he said, u think it's toolish for republicans to focus on michael steele as a person. we ought to focus on defeating the democrats so maybe once in your life you agree here with newt gingrich on a topic. he's saying, listen, back off of him. is michael steele a damaged brand? >> hey, if newt says so, you

know. no. he is a damaged brand, but what you're seeing is that the republicans are sort of setting up an alternative infrastructure in order to go -- in order to go after democrats. that's what we see with steele circling the wagons here. he's going to be kind of an isolated figure. that's going to have an actual real world impact, though, in that the rnc, the only way they're going to have to raise money now is they're going to e-mail out to their supporters and they're going to send mailouts to supporters. you don't raise money over an e-mail list or mail list by asking nicely. you do it with extreme partisan rhetoric. you thought the rnc was partisan now? wait until you see what they come up with over the next few months. >> what are you hearing from dig donors, especially that mckay is now out? >> surprisingly i haven't spoken to any big republican donors the past few days. what i'm hearing in general about the republican donors is that they're disgusted at the way that this is being dragged through the med ya.

you know, what republican donors do generally is pretty obnoxious to the american people. what have they had to canceling. polo match, yachting, trips to bowling clubs. if you want to get money from rich republicans, you're going to have to engage in some of these obnoxious activities, so they like that to happen without the entire nation watching. now that everybody's watching it makes it a lot harder for them to raise money from these rich republicans. >> ryan, for a guy who hasn't spoken to any big money donors in 24, 48 hours, not bad intel there. an amazing escape for two people on their boat in key biscane, florida. the boat caught fire. they had to jump in the water to survive. a passing boat picked them up. two other boats rushed in, put that fire out. nobody was injured. the charred remains of the boat sank. you may have noticed, and if you've not, you probably will very soon. gas prices are inching up and by

summer we could see $4 a gallon gas again. it is all because of rising oil prices. they're now near $87 a barrel. the highest level in 18 months. joining me now is the energy expert and former associate deputy energy secretary in the george w. bush administration. thanks for joining me. >> sure. good to be here, tamron. >> you've got our colleague from cnbc rick santelli and other experts saying we're looking at this $4 a gallon gas, what do you say? what do you think we're going to see by summer? >> you know, tamron, it's always hard to predict these things. i think what we have right now is the perfect storm. the economy is increasing with baby steps. you also have traders on the oil futures market who are really speculating the economy will increase and as a result of that, they are driving up the price of crude oil. in fact, the commodities future trading commission here in washington, d.c., the federal government regulatory body, is really cracking down on some of these oil specklators.

you also have springtime changes in the crude oil, quality of the crude oil. a new blend due to environmental concerns and change in the environment. we also have going into spring and summer driving season, which traditionally is the peak driving season for america here. it's really a perfect storm. >> are any of the things you just named things that are unusual? it seems like that list is something that i heard last summer and maybe even the summer before that? >> right. not unusual, tamron. but they're all really tied to the economy. and what people are really watching here is the economy. you don't have any problem in supply. the world oil market is very well supplied right now. what the issue here is, the specklators that are trading these crude oil futures, they are really the ones driving this up. they're the ones who have to be watched. >> all right. it'll be interesting to see what we experience this summer. thank you, greatly appreciate it. speaking of the obama administration, it's announced a major shift in america's nuclear

strategy. coming up, details on the plan the administration says send a strong message to iran and north korea. controversial video leaked of an american apache helicopter shooting and killing two civilians in baghdad. one of them working as a journalist. and the government ordered toyota to pay the largest ever penalty against an automaker. somewhere in america... there's a home by the sea powered by the wind on the plains. there's a hospital where technology has a healing touch. there's a factory giving old industries new life. and there's a train that got a whole city moving again. somewhere in america, the toughest questions are answered every day.

because somewhere in america, more than sixty thousand people spend every day answering them. siemens. answers.

welcome back. a look at the stock market. stock prices were lower in the early going. a recent rally had taken the dow near the 11,000 level for the first time in 18 months. you see right now the dow is

lightly up. s&p up as well and so is the nads dak. president obama is proposing dramatic changes to america's nuclear strategy. under the new policy, the u.s. would not use nuclear weapons against nonnuclear countries. but defense secretary robert gates insists that, quote, all options are on the table when it comes to nations like iran and north korea. richard wolffe is msnbc political analyst. it's interesting, our first political team at msnbc says this is typical president obama, trying to be in the middle when it comes to this policy. >> reporter: kind of. he's also trying to spin this policy in another direction. so it's not just about defense, but it's about rewarding countries who keep up with the nuclear nonproliferation treaty that will limit the spread of nukes for many decades now. it's him delivering on this speech he gave a year ago in pr prague. this week he's also going to be signing this new treaty with the

russians. next week he's got this big conference with all heads of state coming to washington to talk about loose nukes. there are a lot of different pieces that are part of this long-term dream that he has. he's trying to direct it in more than just a sort of -- he's trying to shape something new. >> richard wolffe live for us at the white house. appreciate it. new unemployment numbers show teenagers suffering the most with 1 in 4 without a job. we're going to look at what that means for the summer job market. cnbc's carmen wong ulrich will join me. and the hero father who jumped into new york's east river to rescue his 2-year-old daughter speaks out about the mysterious stranger who helped save his child's life.

wondering about your retirement plan? who isn't? retirement planning is all questions... how long? how much? how soon? what if? welcome to answer city... td ameritrade's retirement center. i get planning tools, like wealth ruler. strategies. and investment ideas. and retirement experts, on the phone, when i need them. for a little help. or a lot. whether retirement is way off. or way close. time for fresh thinking. time for td ameritrade. i switched to a complete multivitamin with more. only one a day men's 50+ advantage... has gingko for memory and concentration. plus support for heart health. ( crowd roars ) that's a great call. one a day men's.

♪ three decadent flavors. 60 calories. it's me o'clock. time for jell-o. ♪ could open a world of wonder ? ♪ ♪ so sensory ♪ so satisfying ♪ the discovery ♪ never seems to stop ♪ ♪ it's the magic friskies ♪ ♪ makes happen ♪ every day ♪ in so many ways ♪ friskies ♪ feed the senses in this. one day, i'll park this in a spot reserved for me. it's got 26,000 miles on it now, but i'm gonna take it to a thousand million. [ male announcer ] when you own a certified pre-owned mercedes-benz, chances are they'll own it one day, too. which is why it undergoes such a rigorous inspection to meet

our uncompromising standards. one day, i'm gonna drive this to vegas. [ male announcer ] hurry in to your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for 1.99% financing during our certified pre-owned sales event through april 30th. welcome back. well, finding a decent paying, steady job in these tough economic times with the national unemployment rate at close to 10% is not an easy task. but it is even tougher according to the numbers for teenagers who

are looking for work this summer. right now the teen unemployment rate is 26%. the economy is so rough that jobs in retail, construction, hospitality that would normally go to people maybe home from college are now going to adults. cnbc's personal finance expert carmen wong ulrich is here. thanks for joining us. every year when i was in college i worked at sears. that's how i paid for my books and other things to offset expenses. now, obviously, you know adults need the money. when you look at it, you've got teenager, college kids, they've been hit hard. >> they really need the money. if you broaden out the age range from 60 14 to 24 the unemployme rate is near 60%. as an employer, wouldn't you rather have for the same amount of money more bang for your buck by employing somebody who could do more for you? >> and maybe more reliable as an adult who's stationary and

doesn't have to go back to school. >> if you're a teen you're at the end of the list. >> we talked a lot about the stimulus and other things to help adults get back to work. what's being done to help the people who fall in that category? >> a congressman in illinois is putting through the legislature employing the youth for the american dream act. this act, $8 billion towards basically encouraging employers with tax breaks and subsidies to employ more youth, employ more teens. up to the age of 24. summer programs, job training, and lots of parks. get them to work in the parks or afterschool programs. putting the money there and hopefully bringing them in. >> we're looking at numbers broken down by race. as i said, overall 26%. but with 8.8% whiting with 16.5% blacks. even theme parks, they're hiring adults. we had a video not long ago of los angeles, one of those amusement parks lined around the corner adults trying to get a

job. >> wouldn't you want that job? not since world war ii have we seen this. they just want a job. any job, pretty much. they want a job. look at the repercussions of this. with the youth out of work we've got more of them moving back home, more of them delaying getting married which studies show is good for your pocketbook and finances. some folks are calling this a lost generation. once you start behind the starting line where everyone else started let's say in '07, you will always be behind. this may be a whole generation of young americans that will always fall behind because you build your salary on your previous salaries. they're going to fall very far behind. >> you make a great point. it also affects the family. if you don't get a job you've got to move back home with your mother, father, they have to xp >> a lot of unpaid internships, too. >> and student loans. thank you very much. an interesting trend, a part of what's happening with the unemployment market out there.

thank you. rescuers desperately searching for the four miners who at this hour are still missing. after the worst american mining disaster in 25 years. we're going to head to the scene with the very latest on the desperate search. federal investigators fine toyota for failing to disclose safety problems. a live report from cnbc's phil lebeau. oprah winfrey scores another big interview. first she interviewed john edwards' wife elizabeth. now we'll tell you who she's interviewing, up next. to grasse, france

to work with roxane. here in this centuries old town cargill creates flavors. and food companies come to collaborate with cargill. creating unique tastes from thousands of rare flavors. helped by roxane... an ingredient mixing robot. and a team of flavor experts. food companies find the recipe for success. this is how cargill works with customers.

increase in 6 months. pete, back it up! ( marker squeaking ) when business travel leaves you drained, re-charge with comfort suites. spacious rooms, free hi-speed internet, and free hot breakfast. comfort suites. power up. now stay two separate times with comfort suites... or any choice hotel and earn a free night. book at choicehotels.com. welcome back. it is the bottom of the hour on msnbc news live. in massachusetts, lawyers for three teenagers are in court for their clients' arraignment. the teens are charged in connection with the suicide of 15-year-old phoebe prince. two other teenagers have been charged with statutory rape. and the white house is now reconsidering a visit with afghan president hamid karzai. karzai has recently made a

string of testy and even threatening statements. white house press secretary robert gibbs told reporters they will evaluate karzai's remarks and decide whether it's constructive to have the meeting scheduled for may 12th zblfshlgts the latest on that deadly mine explosion in west virginia. it happened almost 24 hours ago. 25 people are known dead and four are missing as i speak. meanwhile, the cause of the explosion is still under investigation. let's go to nbc's jay gray. he's near the site of the mine where the desperate rescue operation is in progress. jay, we know there was a delay. what do we know as far as an effort to get closer to where those trapped miners might be? >> reporter: hey, tamron. yeah, the work still continues this afternoon. the governor making it clear that this is still a rescue effort. he wants to make sure that as long as those four miners are unidentified, that they're going to continue to do whatever they can to get to them. they've had trouble with the drills, getting drills in position and in place. they're digging as you know 1,100 feet through the mines to these areas to allow some of the

m methane to escape. they also want to drill near reinforced emergency rescue chambers where miners are trained to go if there's a problem during their shift underground. they're hoping because they haven't identified these guys yet maybe they are in one of these chamber. of course, there's enough food, there's enough water, there's enough oxygen to survive for 96 hour. there's still time. but they understand that the clock is ticking. they're trying to get things in place, trying to get these drills moving. they hope to breakthrough at least on one of the drills which started early this morning by sometime late this evening. that's the goal right now. they're continuing to push forward with that and hoping for the best here. they need some good news. it's been a tough 24 hours, as you talked about, tamron. >> jay, we've heard on national interviews family members very upset that they feel they're not getting enough information, including a confirmation on those who've been pulled out of there who did not survive. what's the latest on making sure that those folks are getting what they need? >> reporter: yeah. and that's an important question. i actually talked to some

officials, tamron, who say they're trying to do what they can. honestly, what they told me, is that the information has not been real solid at times. they have to identify people. there's been some confusion. obviously, there was a lot of stress yesterday. they've done a bit better job of providing for the families. a lot of these families who've dedicated their lives to the mines, for generations have worked underground here. they're asking for support in the time they need it the most. you're right. many of them feel like they haven't gotten it to this point. >> what else did the government say, jay, regarding this mine's record? we've got a report there were 50-plus citations in one month alone, including complaints about ventilation. >> reporter: yeah, there's no question that there's been some problems with this mine. is it different than other coal mines? that's not what's clear at this point. we do know there have been problems with ventilation, with cracking and collapsing walling and ceilings within the mine. also drill dust and inadequate air quality. all that within the last two

months. we've talked about it throughout the day, over the past year they've been fined more than $380,000. that's a real concern. it's a big frustration for these families. but right now they say, they'll focus on that later. they want to find out if they can find the four men who are missing at this point. and so that's the primary goal right now. >> the most important thing, those lives. thank you very much. joining me now, former miner and virginia native homer hick m. he's written several books set in and around west virginia's coal mine. he joins me by skype. thanks for jining us. >> my pleasure to be here. it's an unfortunate situation. you know, it really hurts those of us who've come out of west virginia and part of coal mining families. so any time there's something like this, we try to pull together and i'm on basically to hopefully tell their story. >> part of the story a lot of people wonder, especially who don't live in that part of our country, this is an occupation you see generation after generation. do folks talk about these

dangers even in the best of circumstances? as we've pointed out, this is dangerous work. >> well, it is. oddly enough, coal mining, underground coal mining is not even in the top ten in the united states in terms of dangerous professions. that's because this is such a heavily regulated industry. the mine safety and health administration snoen as msha very heavily regulates this industry. i'm not sure if that's because this is a poorly managed mine, which i kind of doubt, or if this just means msha is paying a lot of attention to this mine because they're trying to mine in the very dangerous conditions. that is, a roof that probably cracks and falls quite often and also a lot of methane. >> this is all under investigation at this point, but our own norah o'donnell said this mine was identified as a,

quote, gassy mine because of the methane build-up. then you have at least over the past month a citation for poor ventilation. are we not to assume that there are some problems there? >> well, of course, there's problems. all underground bituminous coal mines by definition are gassy. what we are possibly seeing is that msha shows that this mine is operating under difficult conditions. so they probably have had a lot of inspectors in there who have -- of course, any time you have good inspectors, and these are really good inspectors, they're going to find some problems. but i got to tell you, this is a dn an anomaly. to have this huge of an explosion with this loss of life in an american mine, obviously there was a big failure somewhere. this is not a normal thing to happen. whatever did happen, we've got

to ferret it out and see it never happens again. >> we want to tell our audience that -- >> never count a coal miner out. if they were alive after the initial blast, there's a good chance we're going to get them. >> we sure hope so. i want to tell our audience, that sound in the background, that's your computer, i'm being told, homer. that's your computer making the bubble sound in the background in case they were wonder. thank you for your knowledge on this subject and everything you do for those miner. thank you. the u.s. military is trying to explain a newly leaked video that shows apache helicopters hovering over while civilians are being killed during a 2007 raid in iraq. now, the classified video released by the website wikileaks.org shows a group of men on the street in baghdad. you see it there. they are mostly according to reports unarmed. but from the chatter heard on the tape, it appears the airmen believe they have come across insurgents armed with ak .47s

and rocket propelled grenade launchers. later on in this tape the helicopter you see opens fire on the men. one of the victims was areuters. the u.s. military conducted an investigation and found the crewmen acted appropriately and within the rules of engagement. but a big debate and a lot of conversation happening as a result of this video that was leaked. toyota is now facing a record fine of more than $16 million for not telling u.s. officials quickly enough about safety problems with the sticky gas pedals. the transportation department says toyota hid a dangerous defect from u.s. officials for months. cnbc's phil lebeau covers the auto industry. phil, let me ask you, what are the rules? what was toyota supposed to do here? >> tamron, toyota had five business days, that's the law, five business days in which an automaker has to report a defect to the federal government. otherwise, it may be in violation of the law and could be fined up to $16.375 million. that's the maximum fine allowed. and that's what the federal

government is slapping on toyota. toyota has two weeks to decide whether it will pay that fine or fight it in court. one interesting thing, tamron, we were just over at o'hare airport talking with the secretary of transportation, ray lahood. and i asked him point-blank, listen, you have a company with 25 to $30 billion in cash on hand. $16 million is a slap on a wrist to a company with those kind of reserves. would you fine them more if you could. he told me, of course. but i'm limited by the law. that's all i could do. but in his opinion, it's not enough for toyota and he would like to fine the company more. obviously, the law limits what they can do with this. again, toyota has two weeks to decide whether it will pay the fine of just over $16 million or fight it in court. tamron sm. >> all right. phil lebeau for cnbc covering the auto industry for us. thanks, phil. an update on that dramatic rescue of a 2-year-old toddler who fell into new york city's east river this weekend. it's just amazing. the father, david anderson jumped into the river to save his little girl. by time he drove in, a good

samaritan was already in the water. david spoke exclusively to matt lauer on the "today" show just this morning and described the moment we're watching. >> we didn't have a conversation in the water. >> right. >> but i looked over and i was immediately going over, and there he was. he had her up, had her head up. she was crying. and i just went right in. and he handed her to me. and luckily there was some wire hanging down the pier. we were able to grab on to it and hold her. >> how cute is she? no one has been able to identify that good samaritan. the mysterious frenchman jumped into the cab after the rescue. the toddler's mother said she'd like to offer him her best wishes and talk to him personally. shocking allegations of abuse on the set of desperate housewives. former cast mate nicolette

sheridan is suing a producer. >> she's suing for assault and wrongful termination, according to the associated press. we've seen this lawsuit specifically. sheridan says when she had an issue with a line in the script, she approached mark cherry. this is in september 2008 just to give you a time line. she approached him about it. he took her aside and then, quote, forcefully hit her with his hand across her face and head, according to this complaint. after that happened and she complained upward, she says that she was unceremoniously killed off the show in retaliation. abc and mark cherry haven't made comments about this lawsuit that was settled. a number of people i spoke to over -- that are close with that production say that this coming out of nowhere. that it was an incident, if it happened, it was kept very, very k quiet at the time. she says she's lost millions in

potential earnings, suing for $20 million. >> oprah? >> a big interview. rielle hunter. john edwards' mistress. for the longest time people have been saying she's the best case scenario mistress. she wasn't talking for so long. once it was out, she kept to herself, raising her daughter, working things out between herself and john edwards. wow, has that changed in the last several months. first the "gq" magazine published those photos that she later took issue with. now she'll sit down with oprah winfrey. a big go, too, because after those photos were published barbara walters the one that fielded the phone call from reyeel hunter saying she was so upset about the photos. >> the interesting thing, oprah interviewed elizabeth edwards. went to their home. john edwards was kind of hiding off in the corner. >> she has seen all sides of this story. it should be a fantastic interview. oprah has yet to set a firm date on when we can expect to air that. we'll keep you up to date.

other news, annie leibovitz, the very, very successful and beloved photographer, you've seen her work in "vanity fair." she got her start at "rolling stone." she's being sued again for her financial problems. more than $800,000 is owed. this time it comes from the group that helped her settle all that debt. she was millions of dollars in debt, if you recall. just a year or so ago. they say she has not been paying her weekly retainer. they would like to be paid. there's a $10,000 retainer that is due every week since august. she's not paid it. i mean, this is a woman who's such a fantastic artist. and she's really changed the face of pop culture. she's done so many meaningful, meaningful photo shoots. it does definitely tarnish her story. >> she's an artist, not a money manager. sometimes people who are artsy aren't necessarily good with -- i don't know. let us know, annie. >> it would be nice if she's

allowed to keep her work. at the end of the day if she can't pay her bills, she can't keep her work, she's got to sell it to keep her head above water. >> scoop.msnbc.com. also go on and tweet with us. both of us like to hear what you guys have to say. thanks, courtney. john mccain now says he never considered himself a maverick. talk about scoop, that should be -- that's the big scoop. sarah palin also apparently never got that memo. it could be another summer of extreme violence in one of the largest cities in the country. 13 people shot in just three hours last week. we're going to hear from an anti-violence group about what they are doing to stop the crime in one of our most beautiful cities. [ thunder and cracks of lightning ] whatever i did, my digestive upsets came back. but then came align with bifantis. it helps build and maintain a healthy digestive system to restore my natural digestive balance ....and protect against occasional digestive upsets. align brings peace to my digestive system...

and the money back guarantee brings peace to me. so i was surprised when my doctor told me i still had high cholesterol. that really hit me, and got me thinking about my health. i knew i had to get my cholesterol under control. but exercise and eating healthy weren't enough for me. now i trust my heart to lipitor. [ male announcer ] when diet and exercise are not enough, adding lipitor has been shown to lower bad cholesterol 39 to 60%. lipitor is backed by over 17 years of research. lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications, or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. i thought i was doing enough to lower my cholesterol,

but i needed more help. what are you doing about yours? [ male announcer ] have a heart to heart with your doctor about your cholesterol. and about lipitor.

welcome back. an update on the case of alleged ponzi schemer allen stanford. during a hearing today in houston, texas, a federal judge in a criminal case granted stanford's request for a new legal team. he's accused of scamming

investors out of the several billion. this is his fourth set of attorneys since he and executives of his firm stanford financial group were indicted less than a year ago. chicago concerned once again about the growing violence there. according to police there have been more than 25 shootings since late last week. 13 people were shot in a span of three hours early friday morning. t.l. hardman is the director of cease fire illinois, an anti-violence group. thanks for joining me. >> glad to be here, tamron. >> obviously, this is news because of the summer that we saw last year in chicago. violence off the scale. shootings so common that people were wondering when they were going to end. are you worried it's going to be a repeat of what we saw last summer in that city? >> yeah, definitely. violence has become like the norm in chicago. it is learned behavior. we're doing our best to try to show people they can unlearn what they've been taught over the generations.

as a matter of fact, we have highly trained outreach workers and violence interrupters who hit the streets in chicago every day to try to talk people down from committing an act of violence against another person. >> a lot of people would be astonished here. 13 people were shot in 3 hours. it was the first warm day of the year. some people associate the weather with this. but what's going on? is this gang violence? >> it's not really the weather. i'm glad you brought that up. it's not gang violence. some of it's gang violence. 30% of the violence in chicago is interpersonal violence. what happens when the weather gets warmer, there are more opportunities. you see the people you're looking for out there. and then you just take a chance to shoot that individual. you know, really a lot of people just think violently all the time. that's the reason why we have to look at it as a public health issue and do our best. because violence has reached an epidemic level across the nation, but mainly in chicago what needs to really take place is that we need at least about a good 500 or 600 men to walk the communities with us every weekend in chicago to try to change the way the norm, the way people look at violence.

because the gangs get into it, yes. at the same time, petty conflicts lead to a lot of shootings. >> we know the police superintendent and mayor daly very vocal about this violence. in your opinion, other community groups out there, are they doing enough? >> yeah. the superintendent and the mayor are doing a good job. what happened, homicides were down for the first quarter of this year by 18%. aggravated batteries down by 8%. on behalf of cease fire we've mediated about 60 conflicts on the front end this year already that could have led to somebody being shot or killed. everybody's doing the best they can do. it's just hard to catch the interpersonal violence because you never know when somebody's going to get into a conflict at the spur of the moment. that's what you saw happen last week. it's going to continue to happen until we can just get more people on the streets, expand our coverage area and then just work in collaboration with one another apd get the violence down once and for all. the areas in which cease fire works in, we've experienced an

average of 67% reduction and shootings in homicides in the cease fire zones. it's been scientifically proven cease fire works. >> tio, we hope you get the help you need and it's a safe and happy summer for the people. sarah palin could soon be speaking out in support of legally regulating marijuana. we're going to explain why. american military brass, they got a beef with fast food places like burger king, pizza hut on bases in afghanistan. they're planning to close them. is this crossing the line? having the right real estate agent on your side is more important than ever. at remax.com, you can find the experts you need, whether you're trying to sell of hoping to buy. nobody sells more real estate than re/max. visit remax.com today.

everything is better with swanson broth in it. made with garden vegetables and sun-drenched herbs. the secret is swanson, 100% natural chicken broth.

welcome back. there's a lot going on today. here are some things we thought you should know. surely you remember when senator john mccain ran for president in 2008 on the platform of being a maverick. now he tells "newsweek," quote,

i never considered myself a maverick. i consider myself a person who serves the people of arizona to the best of his ability. could sarah palin soon become an advocate for reforming the nation's marijuana law? the group no word on whether she may accept the inveighation. crossing the line, you tell me. the u.s. military has a beef with burgers. well, maybe i should say at least they have a beef with burger joints that take up space on bases in afghanistan. listen to the story. according to reuters, sergeant major michael hall wrote on his blog earlier this year, quote, this is a war zone, not an amusement park when discussing the fast food restaurants on bases. they apparently are taking up too much space. rewent on to say supplying nonessential lux uries to big bases like bagram and kandahar

make it harder to get supplies to troops who are in the fight each day and need resupply. some u.s. soldiers privately are grumbling about the fast food cutbacks. burger king, pizza hut and concessions like orange julius and dairy queen could get cut. a little bit of home in the form of a burger joint you might remember from your hometown could go a long way. cutting the fast food, crossing the line? you tell me. crossing the line. go to tamron.msnbc.com. or you can actually twitter your response at twitter.msnbc.com. that wraps up this hour. i'm tamron hall. join me again tomorrow and each weekday, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. eastern time. ed schultz picks up things right after this. be lurking, waiting . a heart attack caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. but plavix helps save lives.

plavix taken with other heart medicines, goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone, to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots. ask your doctor about plavix. protection that helps save lives. people with stomach ulcers or other conditions that cause bleeding should not use plavix. taking plavix alone or with some other medicines including aspirin may increase bleeding risk, so tell your doctor when planning surgery. certain genetic factors and some medicines, such as prilosec, may affect how plavix works. tell your doctor all the medicines you take, including aspirin, especially if you've had a stroke. if fever, unexplained weakness or confusion develops, tell your doctor promptly. these may be signs of ttp, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition reported sometimes less than 2 weeks after starting plavix. other rare but serious side effects may occur. that keep you cool and dry have now inspired stayfree® to create a whole new level of comfort when it comes to your period. only stayfree® ultra thins have thermocontrol™.

designed with the comfort of athletic fabrics in mind, stayfree® with thermocontrol™ quickly wicks moisture away for exceptional dryness. so you stay incredibly comfortable no matter where your day takes you. stay dry. stay cool. with thermocontrol™ only from stayfree®. youtube didn't exist. and facebook was still run out of a dorm room. when we built our first hybrid, more people had landlines than cell phones, and gas was $1.75 a gallon. and now, while other luxury carmakers are building their first hybrids, lexus hybrids have traveled 5.5 billion miles. and that's quite a head start. ♪ [ male announcer ] competition... it pushes us to work harder. to be better. to win. but sometimes even rivals realize

they share a common goal. america's beverage companies have removed full-calorie soft drinks from schools, reducing beverage calories by 88%. together with schools, we're helping kids make more balanced choices every day. ♪ top of the hour here on

msnbc, i'm ed schultz live in new york. here are some of the stories we are watching. >> it's quite evidence that something went very wrong here for us to have the magnitude of this explosion. >> as frantic rescue efforts continue in the wake of a west virginia mine explosion, serious questions are being raised at this hour about the company that runs the mine. changing nuclear strategy. president obama has talked about the possibility of a nuclear free war. but some critics say his new policy puts america at risk. plus, big companies have a new tactic to deal with tough economic times. hire more interns. accusations that they're abusing the system to get free labor. hello. i'm ed schultz in new york this afternoon. we begin with the coal mine tragedy in west virginia. 25 workers have been confirmed dead. there are still four people missing. but dangerous gas levels have

impeded the search today. governor joe mansion of west virginia says there's a shred of hope in finding the lost miners alive. nbc's norah o'donnell is in naoma, west virginia. norah, what are the chances and tell us about the search for the miners that they believe to be still alive? >> reporter: well, the governor of this state, governor mansion, tells me the odds are long that those four miners who are still missing will be found alive. still, they are literally trying to move earth in order to try and rescue them. they've got crews up there bulldozing essentially an access road so they can drill 1,100 feet into the earth to essentially allow the relief of some gases that are explosive. they're worried about the methane gas and they're worried about carbon monoxide gas. we had been told earlier this morning that may take 12 hours. now we're being told it will be wednesday night. the process is slow going.

you can imagine what it's like for family members knowing one of their loved ones may still be trapped more than 1,000 feet below in that mine. excruciating. the family members, we're told, have pulled together. a lot of them have spent a lot of time up at the mine comforting one another. governor mansion has been up there speaking with them. there's some really heartbreaking stories that have come out of that. one family lost three people. a mother lost a son and two grandsons. one 62-year-old miner died, he'd been mining for 30 year. he was just five weeks away from retirement. he was planning to take his wife on a cruise to the virgin islands. you hear these stories and realize what back breaking work they do, life threatening work they do. what a horrific story for this very small community in the heart of west virginia coal country. this mine does have a history of safety violations that are raising real concerns. in fact, the mine safety and health administration has